Cool Stuff

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Recent events in Jerusalem are signs of coming conflict according to Christian Zionist Les Lawrence.

Sandpoint (PRWEB) November 17, 2009 -- When violent confrontation between Muslims and Jews in late October reignited on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Les Lawrence of Elisha Vision (www.elishavision.com), called the incident “a warning sign of the end times.”

According to Robert Berger writing from Jerusalem (10/25/09), the conflict began when young Muslims, incited by senior members of the Islamic Movement, barricaded themselves inside the Al Aqsa Mosque in protest of Jews praying on the Temple Mount. Berger wrote that the “Israeli Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen blamed Islamic leaders in Israel for fomenting the violence.”

In all, 26 people were injured including 9 officers and 21 Palestinians were arrested.

“Virtually all Jews reject the concept that only Muslims can pray on the Mount because it is Holy to them,” Lawrence said in an interview. “For a Jew to be banned from praying on the site is like banning Catholics from praying at the Vatican.”

Monday, November 23, 2009

Early signs suggest the number of suicides in the U.S. crept up during the worst recession in decades, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of states that account for about 40 percent of the U.S. population.

Available data, still incomplete, suggest that this recession, like past ones, coincided with an uptick in suicides. The data from 19 states find an increase in suicides in the recessionary year of 2008 from 2007. Those states historically account for about half of annual suicides in the U.S. Calls to suicide hotlines are rising. And suicides in the workplace and the military — a small sliver all of self-inflicted deaths — were up in 2008.

Official data on suicides in the U.S. lag, and a 2008 national tally isn't yet available. In 2007, there were 33,185 suicides, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared with an average of about 32,800 in the previous three years.

A Journal survey of the 33 largest states by population found 19 have data for 2008. In all, those 19 reported a total of 15,335 suicides in 2008, up about 2.3 percent from the previous year.

Thirteen states, accounting for 30 percent of the U.S. population, reported more suicides in 2008. In Florida, for instance, suicides were up 6 percent, in Georgia, up 2.3 percent, and in North Carolina, up 7.8 percent. In six smaller states, which account for about 9.5 percent of the population, the number of suicides fell.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Flood-stricken parts of the UK are bracing themselves for more rain after England's wettest day on record swamped homes and brought down bridges.

Forecasters predict Saturday will bring 15mm (0.5in) to 40mm (1.6in) of rain to Cumbria, where police said 75 people spent the night in emergency shelters.

There are 22 flood warnings in force across Scotland, northern England, the Midlands and Wales. Four are "severe".

Gordon Brown, who is in Cumbria, said the country was proud of the rescuers.

During a visit to Cumbria police's headquarters in Penrith, the prime minister said: "What you've done in the last few days is tackle one of the greatest rainfalls we've seen in our country and you've done it with such superb organisation, that I want to tell you on behalf of the whole country how proud we are of you."

Friday, November 20, 2009

EU leaders have chosen the Belgian Prime Minister, Herman van Rompuy, to be the first permanent European Council President.

The other top job created by the Lisbon Treaty - foreign affairs supremo - has gone to the EU Trade Commissioner, Baroness Catherine Ashton from the UK.

Both are seen as consensual politicians with limited foreign policy experience.

Both had unanimous backing from the 27 EU leaders at the summit in Brussels, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.

Earlier, the UK government had said it was no longer pushing for former PM Tony Blair to get the presidency post.

Mr Van Rompuy, 62, had crucial French and German support. He has a reputation as a coalition builder, having taken charge of the linguistically divided Belgian government and steered it out of a crisis.

Herman van Rompuy: Every country should emerge victorious from negotiations

"Every country should emerge victorious from negotiations," he told a news conference after his appointment.

Monday, November 16, 2009

A cocktail of three flu viruses are reported to have mutated into a single pneumonic plague, which it is believed may be far more dangerous than swine flu. The death toll has reached 189 and more than 1 million people have been infected, most of them in the nine regions of Western Ukraine.

President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko has called in the World Health Organisation and a team of nine specialists are carrying out tests in Kiev and Lviv to identify the virus. Samples have been sent to London for analysis.

President Yushchenko said: “People are dying. The epidemic is killing doctors. This is absolutely inconceivable in the 21st Century.”

In a TV interview, the President added: “Unlike similar epidemics in other countries, three causes of serious viral infections came together simultaneously in Ukraine – two seasonal flus and the Californian flu

“Virologists conclude that this combination of infections may produce an even more aggressive new virus as a result of mutation.”

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has been touring hospitals where victims are being treated and presidential elections in January could be cancelled .

Four men and one woman have died from the flu in Lviv, said emergency hospital chief doctor Myron Borysevych. Two of the dead patients were in the 22-35 age group, with two others over 60. He diagnosed the disease as viral pneumonia.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Israel and the international community signaled new optimism on Thursday that the deadlock that has prevented a resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority may soon be broken, after PA officials indicated that elections scheduled for January 24 would not go ahead.

Abbas had said he would not run in the elections, meaning he was coming to the end of his period in power. With the vote off, however, Abbas had become a viable partner again, Israeli and foreign officials said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy phoned Abbas on Thursday to discuss conditions for the renewal of the diplomatic process. And while it is understood that the US does not anticipate substantive negotiations resuming in the next two weeks, there is renewed optimism that the path to new talks can be cleared.

The talks on Monday at the White House between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu focused heavily on the Palestinian issue, with extensive discussion on the "practical steps" both Israel and the Palestinians could take to enable a renewed dialogue, and to boost the prospects of such a dialogue bearing fruit.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

While displaying impressive intelligence and counter-terror capabilities, 2009 has been characterized by a significant rise in the quality and number of intentions to carry out attacks on American soil.

More than eight years have passed since the collapse of the Twin Towers, and the sense among many intelligence communities worldwide is that the al-Qaeda organization is unable to repeat the scope of “operational success” it achieved in that historic attack.

With the passage of years, Global Jihad groups targeted many countries across the globe, but it seems as though they “skipped over” the US. The sense that emerged is that the threat posed to America has minimized.

However, in September of this year authorities uncovered the most significant terror plot in the US since September 11th, when a coffee cart operator from south Manhattan who immigrated with his family from Afghanistan was detained after apparently operating on behalf of al-Qaeda’s global terror unit. His computer was found to contain information about potential countries in America.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

European leaders will hold a special summit next week to choose the future EU president and a foreign policy supremo, the Swedish EU presidency announced Wednesday.

"After an introductory round of consultations with his fellow heads of state and government, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has decided to convene an extra informal summit on 19 November," the EU presidency said in a statement.

hoped that the 27 European heads of state and government will reach agreement at the dinner summit on the key new posts created by the EU's reforming Lisbon Treaty, ratified this month.

"My prime minister is going to start a second round of consultations and hopefully we will be able to present the candidates next Thursday," Roberta Alenius, spokeswoman for Reinfeldt told AFP in Stockholm.

However, filling the two posts is proving more difficult than many had expected.

The Swedes wound up a first round of talks with no consensus for either post and many names swirling around, the spokeswoman said.

The British government still backs former premier Tony Blair, despite unpopularity in some European quarters over his support for the war in Iraq.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The two Koreas briefly exchanged naval fire Tuesday along their disputed western sea border, with a North Korean ship suffering heavy damage before retreating, South Korean military officials said.

There were no South Korean casualties, the country's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, and it was not immediately clear if there were any casualties on the North Korean side. Each side blamed the other for violating the sea border.

"It's a regrettable incident," South Korean Commodore Lee Ki-sik told reporters in Seoul. "We are sternly protesting to North Korea and urging it to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents."

North Korea's military issued a statement blaming South Korea for the clash, saying its ships crossed into North Korean territory. North Korea demanded an apology, according to a statement carried on the official Korean Central News Agency.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who convened an emergency security meeting, ordered his defense minister to strengthen military readiness.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told the military and civil militias today to prepare for war as a deterrent to a U.S.-led attack after American troops gained access to military bases in neighboring Colombia.

Chavez said a recently signed agreement that gives American troops access to seven Colombian bases is a direct threat to his oil-exporting country. Colombia has handed over its sovereignty to the U.S. with the deal, he said.

“Generals of the armed forces, the best way to avoid a war is to prepare for one,” Chavez said in comments on state television during his weekly “Alo Presidente” program. “Colombia handed over their country and is now another state of the union. Don’t make the mistake of attacking: Venezuela is willing to do anything.”

The U.S. agreement with Colombia is part of an effort to “strengthen and increase ties with countries in the region,” Robin Holzhauer, spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, said by telephone. “We’ve done that with governments who want to have partnerships with us.” Colombia has said the agreement would help combat drug trafficking.

Ties between Venezuela and Colombia have deteriorated this year after President Alvaro Uribe accused Chavez of financing leftist Colombian rebels. Chavez, a self-proclaimed socialist revolutionary, said he would stop importing goods from Colombia due to the U.S. military pact. The two countries are each other’s second-largest trading partners after the U.S.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Luke 7-11, 25-287"Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"

8He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them. 9When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away."

10Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

25"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Saturday, November 7, 2009

U.S. military officials sent a medical team to a remote outpost in southern Afghanistan this week to take blood samples from members of an Army unit after a soldier in the unit died from an Ebola-like virus.

Dr. Jim Radike, an expert in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the Role 3 Trauma Hospital at Kandahar Air Field, told The Washington Times that Sgt. Robert David Gordon, 22, from River Falls, Ala., died Sept. 16 from what turned out to be Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever after he was bitten by a tick. The virus is transmitted by infected blood and can be carried by ticks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The news comes as the Pentagon disclosed that it has sent 150,000 doses of vaccine for the H1N1 swine flu virus to Qatar for distribution to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan - half of what U.S. Central Command has requested. More than a half dozen Afghans have died of the disease, which apparently was transmitted to the country by foreigners.

Friday, November 6, 2009

His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients.

There are many unknowns about Nidal Malik Hasan, the man authorities say is responsible for the worst mass killing on a U.S. military base. Most of all, his motive. But details of his life and mindset, emerging from official sources and personal acquaintances, are troubling.

For six years before reporting for duty at Fort Hood, Texas, in July, the 39-year-old Army major worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center pursuing his career in psychiatry, as an intern, a resident and, last year, a fellow in disaster and preventive psychiatry. He received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001.

While an intern at Walter Reed, Hasan had some "difficulties" that required counseling and extra supervision, said Dr. Thomas Grieger, who was the training director at the time.

Grieger said privacy laws prevented him from going into details but noted that the problems had to do with Hasan's interactions with patients. He recalled Hasan as a "mostly very quiet" person who never spoke ill of the military or his country.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

President Barack Obama's economic recovery program saved 935 jobs at the Southwest Georgia Community Action Council, an impressive success story for the stimulus plan. Trouble is, only 508 people work there.

The Georgia nonprofit's inflated job count is among persisting errors in the government's latest effort to measure the effect of the $787 billion stimulus plan despite White House promises last week that the new data would undergo an "extensive review" to root out errors discovered in an earlier report.

About two-thirds of the 14,506 jobs claimed to be saved under one federal office, the Administration for Children and Families at Health and Human Services, actually weren't saved at all, according to a review of the latest data by The Associated Press. Instead, that figure includes more than 9,300 existing employees in hundreds of local agencies who received pay raises and benefits and whose jobs weren't saved.

That type of accounting was found in an earlier AP review of stimulus jobs, which the Obama administration said was misleading because most of the government's job-counting errors were being fixed in the new data.

The administration now acknowledges overcounting in the new numbers for the HHS program. Elizabeth Oxhorn, a spokeswoman for the White House recovery office, said the Obama administration was reviewing the Head Start data "to determine how and if it will be counted."

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The armed forces are said to have carried out "war games" in which nuclear missiles were fired and troops practised an amphibious landing on the country's coast.

Documents obtained by Wprost, one of Poland's leading news magazines, said the exercise was carried out in conjunction with soldiers from Belarus.

The manoeuvres are thought to have been held in September and involved about 13,000 Russian and Belarusian troops.

Poland, which has strained relations with both countries, was cast as the "potential aggressor".

The documents state the exercises, code-named "West", were officially classified as "defensive" but many of the operations appeared to have an offensive nature.

The Russian air force practised using weapons from its nuclear arsenal, while in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, which neighbours Poland, Red Army forces stormed a "Polish" beach and attacked a gas pipeline.

The operation also involved the simulated suppression of an uprising by a national minority in Belarus – the country has a significant Polish population which has a strained relationship with authoritarian government of Belarus.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

A typhoon battered the Philippine capital and surrounding provinces still reeling from recent flooding, sending residents of one town clambering onto rooftops Saturday to escape rising waters. Seven people died and at least five were missing.

Typhoon Mirinae was the fourth storm to lash the northern Philippines since late September and brought new hardship to areas still struggling in the wake of the previous disasters. Nearly 95,000 people who fled during two prior storms were still living in temporary shelters when Mirinae struck, the national disaster agency said.

Saturday's storm headed out to sea in the afternoon and weakened into a tropical storm. It appeared to be heading toward Vietnam.

As Mirinae slammed into Quezon province northeast of Manila around midnight Friday, Philippine authorities evacuated more than 115,000 people in nine provinces east and south of the capital in the storm's path on main Luzon island, the National Disaster Coordinating Council reported. At its height, its winds were blowing 93 miles per hour (150 kilometers per hour) and gusting up to 115 mph (185 kph).

One river in Laguna province, south of Manila, overflowed, washing away a bridge and flooding most of lakeside Santa Cruz town. Residents clambered onto roofs to escape the waters, said Mayor Ariel Magcalas..